Star Witness in Prop 8 Trial Now Supports Marriage Equality

David Blankenhorn, star trial witness for the proponents of California’s Proposition 8, came out today in a New York Timesop-ed as a supporter of marriage equality:

In my 2007 book, “The Future of Marriage,” and in my 2010 court testimony concerning Proposition 8, the California ballot initiative that defined marriage as between a man and a woman, I took a stand against gay marriage. But as a marriage advocate, the time has come for me , to accept gay marriage and emphasize the good that it can do. . .

For me, the most important is the equal dignity of homosexual love. I don’t believe that opposite-sex and same-sex relationships are the same, but I do believe, with growing numbers of Americans, that the time for denigrating or stigmatizing same-sex relationships is over. Whatever one’s definition of marriage, legally recognizing gay and lesbian couples and their children is a victory for basic fairness.

In his op-ed, Blankenhorn also admits that opponents of marriage equality are driven not by religious beliefs, concern for “the family” or children (setting aside the fact that same-sex couples parent just as well as opposite-sex couples do, and that marriage equality strengthens families), or honest disagreement, but by an underlying hostility towards gay people:

. . . to my deep regret, much of the opposition to gay marriage seems to stem, at least in part, from an underlying anti-gay animus. To me, a Southerner by birth whose formative moral experience was the civil rights movement, this fact is profoundly disturbing.

Prop 8 Trial Tracker’s Scottie Thomaston points out that during the Prop 8 trial, when attorney David Boies asked Blankenhorn on cross-examination how marriage equality would harm heterosexual marriage, he replied “I don’t know.” Blankenhorn also admitted that the nation will be “more American” once marriage equality becomes the law of the land.

While it’s clear from Blankenhorn’s comments on the purpose of marriage and parenthood that his evolution on marriage equality and LGBT families isn’t complete, his reversal is nonetheless an important moment. Welcome, sir, to the right side of history.

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16 Comments

“I don’t believe that opposite-sex and same-sex relationships are the same,

“but I do believe, with growing numbers of Americans, that the time for denigrating or stigmatizing same-sex relationships is over. ”

Im sorry but that stinks of pandering and a backhanded slap. He is riding the fence and needs to admit that same sex marriage is no different the opposite sex marriage. Anything short of that is a half assed attempt. End of story.

SteveJune 22, 2012 at 1:26 pm -

It’s probably your usual cognitive dissonance caused by religious brainwashing. His religion tells him that gay relationships are worse, so that is what he has to believe. No matter what he thinks logically and practically.

Reminds me of the story of the stupid Mormon mother who accepted her daughter being gay and loved her wife, but couldn’t bring herself to attend her wedding because of the nonsense she learned in church.

StraightGrandmotherJune 22, 2012 at 1:50 pm -

He has EVOLVED!!!!
Please send him an e-mail and thank him. I would love to see what Wayne and Evan and John e-mail him. I called and got his e-mail address-Blankenhorn@AmericanValues.org

Tim StewartJune 22, 2012 at 2:00 pm -

A couple of thoughts..

People don’t evolve that quickly. Evolution of moral concepts, particularly those concerned with sexuality, takes decades. These remarks only further explain his obvious lack of conviction for his own testimony at trial.

I disagree with his position that anti gay sentiment isn’t driven by religious belief. By and large, it is. There are other cultural influences, but religious belief is far and away the greatest motivator of anti gay sentiment.

Ramona StarksJune 22, 2012 at 2:27 pm -

My comment has nothing to do with his beliefs. My comment is a concern of how the first sentence in the first paragraph is worded. My past vocation as editor came into play when I read this sentence. The wording needs to be moved around a bit. He did not “come out today” – which is what the sentence actually says. The end of that sentence should be inserted after “come out” so that it reads …..”He came out as a supporter of marriage equality today in a New York Times op-ed.

See the difference? If you are just scanning the article, you may miss the true meaning of that entire sentence. He did NOT “COME OUT TODAY”. He came out as a supporter……

Priya LynnJune 22, 2012 at 6:50 pm -

Tim said “I disagree with his position that anti gay sentiment isn’t driven by religious belief. By and large, it is. There are other cultural influences, but religious belief is far and away the greatest motivator of anti gay sentiment.”.

No, no, no. I’ve seen it over and over and over. Religion is an excuse people give to attempt to justify their anti-gay stance. They want to pretend they have a reason beyond “I hate gays” to justify their opposition to equal rights – they don’t.

RJJune 23, 2012 at 6:11 am -

I read the full article and it doesn’t sound at all like he’s changed his views on gay relationships. He spent many a paragraph explaining why gay relationships are NOT equal to heterosexual relationships and never will be (in his view). The article seems to be more about how he’s lately come to feel that the stigmatization of and animus toward gay PEOPLE is wrong. In other words he’s saying “Gay *relationships* are not and never will be equal to straight relationships, but that’s no reason to treat gay *people* badly”.

JayJune 23, 2012 at 9:47 am -

Blankenhorn is an opportunist. He now realizes that joining the anti-gay marriage movement was not as profitable as it promised to be. That, in fact, it has been expensive. He has been exposed as not the expert he pretends to be. People have come to see him as a bigot. Some funders have probably quit contributing to his Institute for American Values despite the junk science it continues to churn out. He decided to cut his losses. For more on Blankenhorn, see the essay at glbtq.com called “Confessions of a Blog Addict,” especially the section called “The Sad Case of David Blankenhorn.”

Regan DuCasseJune 23, 2012 at 2:30 pm -

It’s been a long time now that marriage equality in a handful of states has been in effect. And although there is a majority of bans, bans on top of bans through Constitutional discrimination, there had to be a time when his endeavors would all be a loser. It takes a lot of time, money and energy to keep up such machinations against law abiding and responsible citizens.
Most people can’t work up a sweat over gay citizens who ARE by and large, a law abiding and self reliant group of people.
Gay adults getting married doesn’t tap anyone’s wallet, it doesn’t require raising taxes or needing more prisons or welfare.
Attacking Prop. 8 cost both sides about 100 million dollars. But had gay couples been allowed to continue to participate in their own self reliance, no one would have noticed them much and saved their money.
Indeed, it could have gone towards something else more pressing.
Like, gee…giving perspective adoptive parents the money to cover the expense of doing so.
NOM demands a lot of funds from the public, but all anyone can see them doing with it, is traveling, staying in hotels, renting tour buses and getting fat.
Children are not protected in any way by NOM’s activity, and certainly the children of gay parents ARE.

Anyone with a real brain should be able to see that.
Everyone loses because of what NOM does.
How Brian Brown has spun it, of course, puts gay people as a hostile source by saying it’s the work of powerful gay elites putting pressure on people and forcing them to bend to the will of equality supporters that made Blankenhorn do this.

BB and MG are never going to say it, nor admit that it’s THEIR pressure, and indifference to the harm they are causing and expense to do it, that’s so exhausting and not worth spending one’s entire LIFE doing it with so little return on the effort.

Regan DuCasseJune 23, 2012 at 2:31 pm -

Typo! I meant to say, certainly the children of gay parents are NOT protected.

Michael CJune 23, 2012 at 2:47 pm -

It seems to me that a lot of people are overstating the position that Blankenhorn is taking. His views don’t seem to have changed at all. I read his statement as simply an acceptance that not everyone should be forced to live by his moral code. If that’s what we’re calling progress, our starting point was far worse than I had thought.

I’d have titled this article “One Less Voice to Worry About”

JimJune 23, 2012 at 3:44 pm -

Blankenhorn writes “that the time for denigrating or stigmatizing same-sex relationships is over.” Oh, so once upon a time it was OK and proper to denigrate and stigmatize gay people but that was then and this is now, so we all should quit annoying the faggots and let them be…faggots. This guy is vile. He was a liar on the witness stand and he’s a liar in The New York Times. The only good thing about this wretch is that he has now gutted the case for Proposition 8. I’ll just bet that his gay-hating ex-friends would love to slit his throat right about now. They’ll have to take a number and get in line.

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